BROOKLYN (CN) — When she hopped on a call with whom she thought was YouTube executive Alex Piper, former Goldman Sachs employee Allison Berardo felt “violated,” she told a Brooklyn federal courtroom on Thursday.
Berardo testified during Ozy Media’s fraud trial that she scheduled a call with Piper in 2021 to discuss YouTube’s business relationships with the now-defunct digital media startup after spending months negotiating a deal with the company. But once she got on the call, Berardo said she knew it wasn’t Piper — mainly because of what seemed to be voice modification software that produced a strange and robotic speaking voice.
“I instantly heard a voice that didn’t sound like a human’s voice,” Berardo said Thursday. “Somebody was clearly using a voice modifier.”
That Goldman Sachs call, which became infamous in media circles after it was reported by The New York Times in 2021, is at the center of the federal government’s case against Ozy, in which prosecutors say co-founders Carlos Watson and Samir Rao conspired to impersonate Piper to try and secure an investment from the global bank.
Watson, a Harvard graduate who earned a law degree from Stanford University, is facing criminal charges of securities and wire fraud conspiracies and aggravated identity theft for accusations he deceived investors and conspired to impersonate leaders of other media groups in furtherance of the scheme.
Rao, former chief operating officer, and Suzee Han, onetime chief of staff, each pleaded guilty to charges last year and are now cooperating with the government. The pair were also named alongside Watson in a separate lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
On Thursday, Berardo said Goldman Sachs first took an interest in Ozy Media because the initial revenue numbers the company provided showed it was capable of growth.
“It demonstrated the company was of a certain scale and able to grow over the years,” she said.
But Berardo said she became concerned about Ozy’s long term customer relationships. The information Watson and Rao provided did not seem to show that the media company had enough recurring customers.
After she expressed those concerns, prosecutors say, Watson made up a story: YouTube was interested in buying the rights to Ozy’s flagship program, “The Carlos Watson Show,” in which Watson interviewed politicians and pop culture celebrities including Joe Biden and John Legend.
Seeking to verify that relationship, Berardo said she requested to speak with a YouTube executive to learn more about what it’s like to work with Ozy. Rao then introduced Berardo to Piper, then-head of unscripted content at YouTube, over an email chain.
But, as Rao said during his own testimony, the email he provided was fake and he'd been on the other end the entire time.
On Goldman's side of the call, Berardo was joined by her boss, Hillel Moerman — but she didn’t tell Piper Moerman was present, she testified.
In texts between the two shown in court, Berardo and Moerman tried to figure out if they were indeed speaking to Piper.
“It sounds like he has a voice thing on,” one text from Berardo said.
“Do you think it could be Carlos?” Berardo asked in another text.
Berardo added that the two initially thought they were talking to Watson because they picked up on familiar mannerisms. For instance, Berardo said Watson tended to repeat the name of the person he was talking to — just like the fake Piper was doing on the call.
“He just said my name again,” another text from Berardo said.
Berardo then suggested Moerman, who hadn't yet been introduced on the call, ask a question. She thought the sudden interruption would rattle whomever was on the other side of the call, she explained during Thursday's testimony.
Follow @NikaSchoonover
